A Passion with No Name
by Jun-I
Summary: Tomboy mechanic Heihachi falls for femme fatale Kyuuzou. But she might not be the only one with her eye on the lady in red. Yaoi and yuri. Female Heihachi x female Kyuzo, Kambei x Shichiroji, Kanbei x female Kyuzo
1. The Lady and the Mechanic

A Passion with No Name  
----------------------  
Author: Jun-I  
Chapter 1: The Lady and the Mechanic 

Pairings: female Heihachi - female Kyuzo, Shichiroji/Kanbei (later), Kambei - Kyuuzou (female)

Warnings:  
- characters undergo sex change (Heihachi and Kyuzo are women), yaoi/yuri  
- spoilers within. Written with the assumption that readers have already seen the anime.

Notes:  
- I've always wanted to write a female Kyuuzou fic after learning that the original design for the anime character was female. (They changed 'her' back to a man though). Anyway, my friend who watched S7 without knowing that Kyuuzou was originally female was also of the opinion that Kyuuzou's character was never convincingly male. 'He' had very strong feminine aspects.  
- Kyuuzou's femininity might be obvious, but casting Heihachi as a girl is a little more tricky. Nevertheless, there is some 'supporting evidence'. 'He' is very short for a man, for starters. In the scene in which Heihachi falls over when Gorobei asks 'him' if 'he' was interested in hacking 40 Nobuseri, Heihachi's butt looks a little too round to be a guy's. Plus 'he' wears exactly the kind of clothes that could hide a woman's figure. And then there's that whole stereotype of the 'lesbian mechanic'. ;-)

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Her shining princess, she called her. Golden-haired and ruby-eyed. A stunning enchantress in a long red gown. Heihachi had heard of her even before she first laid eyes on her. After Gorobei had talked her into signing up for the Kanna Project, he mentioned a strange red samurai who had challenged Kanbei earlier. A woman who was a better fighter than their formidable leader? The lesbian mechanic was intrigued. Heihachi was an above-average swordfighter, but during the five years she had to survive as a lone wanderer after leaving the army, she did not have the confidence to live openly as a woman. It was just too risky. Her somewhat androgynous appearance allowed her to pass for a young man, and a man was what Gorobei thought he got when he brought the happy-go-lucky woodcutter to meet the rest of the team.

Heihachi's new friend turned out to be an incurable gossip. Gorobei retold the story Kanbei and Kyuuzou's match with dramatic flair. He laughed about how the stoic Kanbei had rather uncharacteristically expressed his attraction to the deadly female fighter. Heihachi wanted to meet this mysterious woman. She did later catch a few glimpses of the crimson-clad samurai among their pursuers, but she never got a close look at her.

The tomboy mechanic finally got her wish on the day her ronin band escaped from the Shikimori territory. The crimson warrior had come to them at the right time, switching sides in an unequal battle. Heihachi lost her heart completely after watching the other woman kill two Raiden single-handedly. If Kanbei was attracted, Heihachi was infatuated. Both were helpless moths drawn to Kyuuzou's cold flame.

After Kanbei had invited Kyuuzou to join the team, Heihachi fell into step beside her. "That was so awesome!" The boyish mechanic gushed, bowing enthusiastically to the elegant woman, "You're such a role model to female kind!"

Kyuuzou did not even look at her. "I live for myself, not for the aspirations of my entire sex," the tall woman had said rather dispassionately.

Heihachi was mortified. How foolish she must seem to this superior and sophisticated lady, projecting her own ideals onto a stranger's actions. She felt almost relieved when the two female samurai were split into different teams for the rest of the journey to Kanna. Perhaps by the time they got to the village, Kyuuzou would have forgotten how silly she sounded.


	2. Journey to Kanna

A Passion with No Name  
-----------------------  
Chapter 2: The Journey to Kanna  
Author: Jun-I  
Warnings:  
- characters change sex, yaoi, yuri, cross-dressing  
- spoilers within. Written with the assumption that readers have already seen the anime. 

Pairings: female Heihachi - female Kyuzo, Shichiroji/Kanbei (later), Kambei - female Kyuuzou (implied)

-------------------------------------

It was Gorobei who came up with the idea of disguising Rikichi, Heihachi and himself as women for the rest of their journey. There was only one problem. Heihachi was already a woman. As Gorobei undressed himself and put on a woman's kimono, Heihachi hesitated. Rikichi's reaction was even more extreme - the farmer was having a fit over the idea of having to shave his legs. But at long last, Rikichi decided to undress and change into his new clothes too, even though he did not stop complaining about Gorobei's idea for one second.

Heihachi was laughing as she teased Rikichi, but Gorobei noticed that the mechanic had not yet started to undress. A look of doubt came into his eyes. "Well, we don't have much time," the tall veteran interjected, "Don't keep our three lovely make up artists waiting."

The smile faded from Heihachi's face. Gorobei frowned. If Heihachi had served three years during the great war as 'he' had told Gorobei, the mechanic was at least in 'his' twenties. Yet never once had Gorobei seen Heihachi bring a razor to 'his' smooth chin. The former soldier apparently did not need to shave. A vague suspicion had been lingering at the back of Gorobei's mind, but now things were starting to look clearer.

"Heihachi-dono," the dark man said, "There should be no secrets between the three of us if we are to survive this journey together."

Heihachi had turned a shade paler.

"It's all right." Gorobei said reassuringly, "There's nothing to fear from me. Or from Rikichi."

The mechanic regarded him with some suspicion. Gorobei was too fabulous to be a straight man, yet Heihachi was still not sure. But she had no choice. She removed her bulky outer garments and said to the two men. "I trust that you can keep a secret."

Rikichi's eyes almost popped out of his sockets. Under the baggy clothes, Heihachi was quite unexpectedly trim and slender, and undeniably female. The peasant nearly fell over but Gorobei broke in smoothly, "As far as we're concerned, you are one of the guys."

The short samurai smiled toothily, but Gorobei knew she was afraid. Gorobei had seen them before - women who did not desire the amorous attentions of men, no matter how much they liked men as friends. Behind the mannish goofiness was fear. Fear of being viewed by men the same way as men viewed less fortunate women like Kirara and Sanae. Still, Gorobei knew there was nothing he could do to ease her fears. Trust had to be earned, not demanded.

Gorobei studied the female samurai. Heihachi's features were pleasant. The tomboy was actually prettier than the woman she adored, thought Gorobei. She had large, liquid black eyes that a man could drown in, that is, when she wasn't squinting them into slits. Heihachi's habit of keeping silly expressions on her face was just a camouflage - a tactic for obscuring her natural beauty. "Come, we must doll you up," the entertainer clapped his hands authoritatively, "Then when Kyuuzou sees you again, she will be impressed by your gorgeousness."

"Kyuuzou?" Heihachi's jaw dropped. How did Gorobei know?

The big man chuckled, "You young people don't know how to hide your passions. Your eyes betrayed you. But if I were you, I'll be more discreet about it. Things are complicated enough with our leader lusting after her."

Heihachi allowed Gorobei to put makeup on her while she pondered his earlier words. Would Kyuuzou really be impressed with her new look? Heihachi was not sure if the glittering femme would be impressed even if Heihachi was voted Miss Kougakyo. Then the frumpy mechanic tortured herself with worries about the dynamics between Kyuuzou and Kanbei. The opposite of love was not hate. It was indifference. And it was clear for all to see that whatever the deadly female fighter felt for Kanbei, it was not indifference. Kanbei was tall, dark and handsome. He was a distinguished leader and a mighty warrior. As for Heihachi, she was just a short, silly little dyke, an unassuming mechanic always working in the shadows. She wasn't charismatic, experienced, or masterful. All she had over him was an unbeatable sense of humor and a disarmingly cute smile. But would that be enough to win Kyuuzou's heart?

It was a few days later when Heihachi arrived at the winged rock as a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman. Kyuuzou was already waiting there. The femme fatale gave Heihachi a knowing look when she saw the redhead in femme drag, and Heihachi saw the vaguest hint of a smile flash across the blonde's face.

They shared a secret without even speaking of it. It was clear to Kyuuzou that Heihachi was female, and that she did not want anyone else to know. As for the tomboy mechanic, she just assumed that Kyuuzou saw her for who she was, unlike the others. And she trusted the silent samurai not to reveal her secret. Heihachi believed there was a special bond between women who chose the path of the sword, something that only two female fighters could share. This was their secret universe. A world that men could not enter. A world that Shimada Kanbei could never enter.


	3. Shared Understanding

A Passion with No Name  
-------------------------  
Author: Jun-I  
Chapter 3: Shared Understanding

Warnings:  
- characters undergo sex change (Hei and Kyuu are female), yaoi/yuri  
- spoilers within. Written with the assumption that readers have already seen the anime.

Pairings: female Heihachi - female Kyuzo, Shichiroji/Kambei (later), Kanbei - female Kyuuzou

----------------------------

The seven fell quickly into their duties of fortifying the village. Heihachi was busy with creating new weapons, and Kanbei had given Kyuuzou the duty of training the peasants in archery. But during Heihachi's brief breaks, she always sought the other woman out when Kanbei wasn't watching. The samurai maiden brought Kyuuzou rice balls and sometimes wildflowers in between archery sessions. Heihachi did not say anything to the tall, haughty lady beyond everyday talk, but Kyuuzou knew she was being courted. Kyuuzou had never been courted by a woman, and certainly not by a woman as odd as Heihachi. The quiet blonde did not know quite what to make of it, so she tolerated the younger woman with detached amusement. Although the lesbian mechanic was only three years younger than Kyuuzou, she had a kind of childlike innocence that Kyuuzou had never seen before in a war veteran. Maybe it was because Heihachi served in a support unit instead of a combat unit, thought the scarlet warrior. But for once, someone was in love with her without being in lust with her. Kyuuzou could not find it in herself to dislike the girl.

When Kirara and Katsushiro caught the traitor Manzou, Heihachi had been furious. She lifted her sword to execute the man immediately. Shichi had seized her sword arm but she was not about to back down in the face of the blond man. Then Kyuuzou had backed her up, taking her side even when the male samurai spoke against her. With Kyuuzou behind her, Heihachi felt brave and sure. But the women's opinions came to no consequence when the robot Kikuchiyo intervened, pointing out the hypocrisies of both peasants and samurai, and how the samurai class had no right to judge and condemn the class they exploited. As everyone gaped at Kikuchiyo's revelation of his peasant status, Kyuuzou and Heihachi exchanged surprised glances. They had never before realized the complexities of a peasant's soul.

It was from these shared looks that Heihachi imagined an unspoken understanding between the two. Living in the shadow of death, the young veteran walked from day to day cherishing the warmth of their silent female bond.

When Kanbei and Gorobei came up with the plan to infiltrate the Nobuseri mothership by turning Gorobei, Katsushiro and Kyuuzou over to the bandits as captives, Heihachi had been terrified. Terrified that her beloved would come under the bandits' lecherous gaze. Why couldn't their leader hide Kyuuzou in a rice bag like Kikuchiyo, Shichiroji and herself would be hidden? But her worry was for nothing. Kyuuzou was the queen of the battle. She was first to free herself from her bonds and she demolished more mecha than any of the men. Heihachi too, was the hero of the day, in her own quiet way. Having entered the control room of the bandit's ship after jumping through several death traps, she single-handedly brought the great ship to a grinding halt. Heihachi rejoined the rest of the samurai as Kikuchiyo and Shichi held the log bridge between the dying ship and the mountain side. Heihachi and Kyuuzou escaped the doomed vessel together, clambering up to a ledge on the cliff face just before the ship crashed into the chasm below.

But their enemies were not all destroyed in the fall. More mechanized bandits flew up the mountainside to pursue them. The seven fought back desperately. When Kikuchiyo had put his sword through the last Yakan, Heihachi thought their work was finally done for the day. But that was not to be. A bullet grazed Kikuchiyo's head as he kicked the dead robot over the ledge. There were more enemies waiting below in the misty chasm!

Kanbei asked for a scout to check out the strength of their remaining foes. The child Katsushiro volunteered but Kyuuzou overruled him. She stepped towards the chasm. Heihachi saw how Kanbei had looked up gravely into the face of the pale warrior as if he had regretted his request. She saw Kyuuzou smile down at him, a mocking, challenging smile. She did not know what to make of it. Then the red-clad lady was gone, skidding down the side of the mountain as she dodged Nobuseri bullets.

Kanbei stared after her. "She will return. She will return to settle things with me." He said as if trying to reassure himself. Heihachi prayed fervently that what he said would be true, though she would rather not that Kyuuzou returned only for Kanbei's sake.


	4. Stolen Passion

A Passion with No Name  
-------------------------  
Chapter 4: Stolen Passion

Author: Jun-I

Warnings:  
- characters undergo sex change (Heihachi and Kyuuzou are female), yaoi/yuri  
- spoilers within. Written with the assumption that readers have already seen the anime.

Pairings: female Heihachi -> female Kyuuzou, Kanbei x Kyuzo (female), Shichiroji/Kambei

-----------------------------------------

The next evening, Heihachi stood with Katsushiro on the barricade overlooking the steep canyon. She wondered where Kyuuzou was, and if she had survived the scouting mission. Kanbei and Shichiroji had arrived to join them, offering them two bowls of the peasants' humble gruel. But before they could lift the bowls to their lips, they heard a sound coming from below. Something was moving up the canyon wall. Heihachi moved protectively in front of the child Katsushiro. Shichiroji and Kanbei dropped to their knees as they peered cautiously into the canyon below. "There's only one," Shichiroji whispered. Then she came into sight. The red-clad woman with golden hair.

Kyuuzou bounced up the steep cliff face and leaped onto the barricade. She was still alive! And looking very well indeed. As the crimson goddess stood poised gracefully at the top of the barricade looking down at her, Heihachi's heart somersaulted for joy. The silent warrior held her sword between her teeth as she carried a Nobuseri cannon across her strong, slim shoulders. Heihachi was not quite expecting it when Kyuuzou dropped the cannon right into her arms. Kyuuzou then sheathed her sword gracefully. "I brought something for you," she addressed Heihachi, "I thought you might like it."

"I'll… I'll see what I can do with it," the lesbian mechanic stammered as her face flushed. It would be quite a bit later that Heihachi would kick herself for her poor showing. Kyuuzou had risked her life to bring her a grand gift, and that was all she could say?

Kyuuzou jumped down, landing lightly in front of Heihachi. They stood facing each other. Heihachi had a look of blissful disbelief on her face. Kyuuzou's mood, however remained unreadable. Then Kanbei spoke, asking the red samurai for her status report. The cold, haughty woman did not even turn to look at him. In her cool, dispassionate manner, she related what she had learnt of the enemy's numbers. Then she departed, leaving at least two pairs of admiring eyes trailing after her slender form.

Kyuuzou had left with just the words, "I'm going to sleep." Heihachi stared as the willowy warrior clambered up the hill. The mechanic could not believe what had just happened. Kyuuzou had brought her a present – the Raiden cannon. Her shining princess had climbed all the way up the steep rock face with that heavy burden. It had to mean that Kyuuzou cared about her, even if in a small way. Then the young maid realized to her mortification that she had not yet thanked the other woman.

"I'll let her get her sleep," she thought. "Then I'll seek her out later and give my thanks."

--------------

It was in the late hours of the night when Heihachi made her way to the place she knew to be the other woman's favorite forest hangout. The smooth, shady spot under the ancient tree. The tomboy brought a bunch of wildflowers and some rice balls. "Just in case Kyuuzou is still asleep, I'd just leave them beside her," she thought considerately … and then she saw them.

Kyuuzou's scarlet robe was on the ground, flung carelessly aside. The blond samurai herself lay under the tree, sprawled out on top of the familiar long white jacket that Heihachi had seen so many times before. A man was kneeling before the blonde. His back was to Heihachi but she recognized the broad shoulders, brown skin and long wavy hair of her commander. It was as if a cold hand had gripped the tomboy's heart and was squeezing the life out of it. The samurai maiden saw pale femme give a soft gasp and arch into the contact as the handsome, well-built man leaned into her. As the two bodies moved together in a sensual rhythm, Heihachi felt the world spin around her. She saw the look of ecstasy in the other woman's half-closed eyes. The dyke mechanic put a hand to the nearest tree to steady herself. All of a sudden, she felt like retching.

She did not know how she managed to stumble her way back to the makeshift bedchamber in the barn where Kikuchiyo, Katsushiro and Gorobei were preparing to turn in for the night. Her whole body was shaking. Gorobei gave her a concerned look as she tottered over to her bedding, but she ignored her friend and blew the candle out before he could see the red rims forming around her eyes.

--------------

Kyuuzou's scarlet eyes had noticed the short figure standing in the shadow of the trees even as Kanbei and she were lost in the throes of passion. Now that the man had left, the crimson samurai put her robe back on and walked over to where she had last seen Heihachi standing. A bunch of wild flowers and a packet of rice balls lay on the ground. Kyuuzou had a fleeting sense of regret. She picked up the discarded gifts and made her silent way to the barn next to the headman's house. Kyuuzou slid the door open quietly. The room was dark. Everyone was asleep. The blonde saw Heihachi lying facing the wall, her back to the snoring male samurai. Kyuuzou approached her cautiously, tiptoeing over the sleeping men. "Hei-chan?" she whispered. There was no answer. She squatted down and leaned over the mechanic. The boyish maiden seemed to be asleep. Heihachi's eyes were closed and her breathing was shallow. Her brows were knit. Under the moonlight, Kyuuzou saw the tear stains on the samurai's face.

--------------

As Kanbei stepped into his room, a metallic arm reached out and grabbed him by the collar. "Shichiroji…" the commander began, stunned by his lover's sudden roughness, but not entirely surprised.

The younger man pushed him against the wall and kissed him possessively. As was his habit, Kanbei's arms circled the blond's waist, pulling him into a tight embrace. Then he stopped himself and drew back to look at his aide in the eye. "You shouldn't have waited up," he said. His voice was kind, caring.

"Where were you?" Shichiroji asked in return. Normally, the young man would have melted at his commander's warm concern, but tonight he was not in the mood to be placated. Kanbei did not answer. He cupped the younger man's handsome face in his hands and kissed him chastely on the forehead.

Shichiroji put an arm around the old warrior's neck and pulled him down to the floor. They exchanged a few tender kisses and then the older man rolled off him. Kanbei said, "Not tonight. We have to conserve our energies for the battle tomorrow."

"You can conserve your energy. Let me do the work." The younger man offered.

Kanbei regarded him suspiciously. Shichiroji, for all his sweetness, was a lazy lover. He usually preferred to let someone else do most of the work. In the past, when Kanbei asked them to switch roles so that the older man could lie back and relax for a change, Shichiroji went along with it rather halfheartedly.

"Why the sudden interest?" Kanbei asked.

"Why not?" pouted Shichiroji, "Or have you already sated your needs elsewhere and have no use for me tonight?"

"Shichi…" Kanbei started.

"I'm not blind. Your eyes follow her. She pretends to ignore you but she gives you just enough to lead you on. Am I not right?"

"And are you jealous?"

"Should I not be?" the young blonde retorted.

"I have never begrudged you your union with Yukino," said the old samurai.

"Yukino and I are friends." Shichiroji said rather stiffly.

"Friends with certain intimate privileges," Kanbei reminded him.

"I love her but I am not in love with her. There is a difference." Shichiroji insisted, "Yukino and I have laid no claims on each other. She is free to join herself to another anytime she wishes."

"You worry over nothing." Kanbei said as he closed his hand around Shichiroji's metal fingers. "Kyuuzou and I are still foes with a death duel on the horizon. She has made no other claim on me. And I have laid no claim to her."

"Perhaps so. But you would not fight her if you could help it." The young blonde said sourly as he pulled away slightly. "And you would stake your claim if she let you. Or am I wrong?"

Kanbei sighed. He said, "There are more pressing matters that concern us. Let us get some rest. We can continue this conversation another time."

Shichiroji knew the older man was right. He closed his eyes and turned on his side as he prepared to sleep, facing away from his dark lover. But he did not pull away again when Kanbei spooned up behind him and wrapped an arm around his waist. Thus he fell into an uneasy slumber, wondering if they'd ever continue this strange conversation. The odds were against them in the coming battle. Both of them might be dead before the end of the next day.


	5. Aftermath

A Passion with No Name  
---------------------------

Chapter 5: Aftermath  
Author: Jun-I

Warnings:  
- characters undergo sex change (Heihachi and Kyuuzou are women), yaoi/yuri  
- spoilers within.Written with the assumption that readers have already seen the anime.

Pairings: female Heihachi -> female Kyuuzou, Kanbei x female Kyuuzou (implied)

--------------------------

They buried Gorobei after the battle. Heihachi fought back her tears. Her only friend was dead. There was no one left who cared about her. No one. But the mechanic turned her back on the funeral proceedings and made her way back to the samurai's quarters. This was the rare moment of privacy she needed to change her bandages.

The tomboy samurai slid the door shut and removed her clothes. She began fumbling with the long bloody strip of cloth wound around her body. Usually, it would have been easy. But with her injuries, she couldn't turn her torso without pain.

"You should just let everyone know you're a female," a low voice cut in. "It's better than sneaking around like this."

Heihachi jumped. She turned and glared at the intruder. It was the other woman. The redhead couldn't decide whether to be relieved or angry.

"I should tell everyone that I'm a woman, so that Kanbei can banish me to the Temple with the rest of the womenfolk whenever the fighting starts?"

"You misjudge him. He would never do that to you."

Once, such words might have comforted Heihachi, but hearing them come from Kyuuzou only angered her further.

Seeing Heihachi wince as she awkwardly removed the blood soaked bandage, Kyuuzou cut in. "Let me do it." When Heihachi ignored her, she added, "Or do you want me to ask one of the men to help you?

Heihachi felt a fury rise within her. How dare Kyuuzou say that to her when she was the one who… ? The redhead's lips quivered but she did not answer the blonde. She reached for the roll of clean bandages on the table but the scarlet samurai leaned over and picked it up first.

Heihachi glared at the pale haired woman. Kyuuzou looked back at her with unreadable red eyes. When Kyuuzou unwound the strip of clean cloth and tried to pass it around Heihachi's body, the mechanic batted her hands away. "Don't – touch – me. Not with his scent on you." The voice was bitter, hard.

Kyuuzou bit her lip. She had never thought the cheerful tomboy to be capable of speaking in such scathing tones. The scarlet warrior spoke slowly. "I don't love him. I just needed … to release tension between battles. He was ready and willing. There was nothing more to it."

"Why not use me then?" Heihachi asked almost plaintively.

"I respect you too much for that." Kyuuzou quietly replied.

The tomboy was angry. Why couldn't Kyuuzou just be honest enough to admit that she didn't have any interest in her because she lacked the "proper equipment"?

"Give me the bandage," Heihachi said, looking away from the blonde. Kyuuzou sighed. She placed the partially unwound roll in Heihachi's open palm. Then the crimson warrior turned and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

Tears stung Heihachi's eyes as she wrapped the clean bandage around the searing wound on her midriff. The injury must be worse than she first thought.


	6. When One Follows the Other

A Passion with No Name  
Chapter 6: When One Follows the Other  
-----------------------------------------  
Author: Jun-I

Warnings:  
- characters undergo sex change (Heihachi and Kyuuzou are women), yaoi, yuri  
- spoilers within. Written with the assumption that readers have already seen the anime.

Pairings: female Heihachi x female Kyuuzou, Kanbei x female Kyuuzou (implied)

* * *

Kanbei left Kanna the same evening they buried Gorobei. Heihachi did not know he was gone until Shichiroji told her the next day. He said that their commander was on his way to the Capital to rescue Rikichi's wife, and that he had left orders for Shichiroji and Heihachi to work on the reconstruction of the village until he returned. 

The samurai maiden felt a sudden rush of wicked joy. That man was gone! Out of the picture, even if only temporarily. Then she felt horribly guilty. Kanbei had been good to her. A fair and forgiving leader. He had gone on this risky mission alone because he did not want any more of the seven samurai to die. Yet the redhead could not help hating him.

Now that the village was no longer under immediate threat, Heihachi actually had time to think. For a while, she struggled between guilt and resentment until she became somewhat reconciled to the idea that while her head may never see eye-to-eye with her heart, it was not necessary to force the two to agree. She was a soldier, and she would do her duty regardless of what she felt.

Devoting her energies to construction instead of destruction also mellowed her mood somewhat. On looking back, Heihachi decided that she had judged Kyuuzou unfairly. The crimson warrior had done her no wrong. She had never made any promises to the dykey mechanic or even encouraged Heihachi's attentions. If anything, the younger woman was the one who conducted herself poorly. She had reacted as if Kyuuzou belonged to her because she so badly wanted that to be true.

Heihachi wondered if she should apologize to the other woman, but she did not know what she should say. She would have spent sometime considering the matter if not for the fact that Katsushiro and Kikuchiyo were now clamoring to follow after Kanbei. Shichiroji and Heihachi had endless discussions on what to do with the two hotheads. Finally, the two older samurai decided that it would be pointless to restrain them. And if Heihachi and Shichiroji did not have to waste their time 'managing' Katsu and Kiku, they would be able to get their reconstruction work done much more quickly. So they sent the two rookies off with enough rice balls to last their journey.

It was then that Heihachi finally had the time to muster up her resolve to apologize to Kyuuzou. She went to look for the crimson warrior but the lady in red was nowhere to be found. Heihachi even dropped by the Water Temple although she knew that Kyuuzou almost never went there. Komachi was there, playing with her young friend Okara. The girls gave her a curious look, so Heihachi asked them if they had seen Kyuuzou. The children said, "Oh, she left sometime ago. After Kanbei-sama left." Komachi added, "She came here because of Kanbei-sama anyway. Now that he's not here, there's no reason for her to stay."

At this, Heihachi felt all the anger she had held towards Kanbei and Kyuuzou come rushing back. The very same anger she had worked for days to resolve. But apparently it had not been resolved.

Then Okara chipped in, "Kyuuzou-dono probably went to follow after Kanbei-sama, just like Kirara-dono."

The female samurai's vision flooded with an angry white light. Why was it that Kanbei could have two women chasing him when Heihachi could not even have one?

"If she says she doesn't love him, then why does she keep following after him?" The question loomed larger and larger in Heihachi's mind until she forced it away and returned to her work. But she could not help wondering what else the children could have seen that she herself had failed to see.

From that day on, Shichiroji noticed that his partner was not quite as focused on 'his' work as before. "Maybe he is itching to go where our leader is now that everyone else is heading in that direction," thought Shichiroji, "It's just my luck that I got stuck with a bunch of irresponsible samurai who cast aside their duties when the next 'fun' mission comes along. If anyone has the right to follow after Kanbei, it is me. But I'm here doing the right thing. Why can't the rest of them do the same?" the blond warrior sighed.

Then Shichiroji received a letter from Yukino telling him that Sanae had been freed and that Kanbei and the rest were in Kougakyo. He said to Heihachi, "Well, the day we finish our reconstruction project is the day we go to Kougakyo to join the rest of the team."

That had the desired effect. Heihachi's efficiency doubled. She finished the reconstruction in two days. Not only that, she had brought a damaged Yakan back to working order. The Yakan would take her, Rikichi and Shichiroji back to Shikimori territory, where they could ride the boat back to Kougakyo. Shichiroji was pleased. Riding the Yakan would be much faster than walking.


	7. In the Light of the Sun

A Passion with No Name  
Chapter 7: In the Light of the Sun  
--------------------------------------  
Author: Jun-I

Warnings:  
-characters undergo sex change (Heihachi and Kyuuzou are women), yaoi, yuri  
- spoilers within. Written with the assumption that readers have already seen the anime.

Pairings: female Heihachi x female Kyuuzou, Kanbei x Kyuuzou (implied)

* * *

Heihachi, Rikichi and Shichiroji arrived at the House of the Fireflies on a fine morning. Kanbei, Katsushiro, Kirara, Masa and Kiku were all there to meet them. The silent outsider Kyuuzou was there too. So it was as Okara and Komachi had said. "How long had she been there with him?" Heihachi wondered. Did they spend their nights together in the House of the Fireflies? A thousand jealous questions flooded her mind.

As always, Kyuuzou stood apart from the group, and yet stayed close to Kanbei, watching him when he was not watching her. It tore Heihachi to pieces from the inside to see this, but she knew she did not have the right to demand otherwise.

Just then her erstwhile traveling companion Rikichi caught sight of Sanae looking out the upstairs window. He called out to his wife but she shut the window quickly. The seven followed Rikichi as he ran up the stairs to meet his long lost spouse. As Heihachi witnessed the awkward, painful exchange between the estranged couple, she realized that her own torment was nothing compared to the agony of Sanae and Rikichi. To be hopelessly in love with someone who did not want you. The mechanic understood how that felt, and she knew Rikichi must have felt a hundred times worse than she ever did.

The tomboy samurai stood in that upstairs room with her comrades, looking on while Rikichi pleaded and Sanae wept. Then she realized there was someone else present besides Masa and the other samurai. Ayamaro was a few feet away from her, standing behind Kiku and clinging onto the robot's jacket as if seeking an anchor in this emotional storm. Heihachi stared. What was he doing here? And if she did not know better, it looked like Ayamaro was actually feeling sympathy! Ayamaro caught her gaze and coughed awkwardly. It was then they both realized it was not appropriate for them to intrude on the peasant couple's moment of private agony. One by one, the watchers left the room.

Heihachi walked back down to the riverbank behind the house, gazing at the boat that had brought the farmer to this unhappy reunion. The samurai felt a vague anger at the farmer's wife for putting Rikichi through all this hurt.

The tomboy heard light footsteps behind her. She already knew who it was. She had listened for that step many a day and many a night in Kanna. But at this moment the mechanic did not know what to say to Kyuuzou. She decided to start with the most obvious topic and perhaps the least personal.

"What is your ex-boss doing here?" Heihachi asked without quite looking at the woman who had just stepped up beside her.

"I had to bring him along. There was nowhere else for him to go. I could not just leave him defenseless on the streets of Kougakyo."

"We women are too softhearted sometimes." Heihachi sighed, "But I respect the fact that you honor your old loyalties. If only the same could be said for Sanae."

"Perhaps we should not judge her too harshly." Kyuuzou responded softly, "That woman is braver than the two of us put together. It is easier to choose death by the sword than to choose life as an incubator serving a monster. It is easier to submit one's body to a quick destruction than to submit to years of soul-killing degradation. She did all this because she loved her people. And she shut out her true thoughts so that she could bear that loathsome life. I don't think I have the courage to make her choice."

"And I won't think less of you for it!" Heihachi declared, turning to look upon the female samurai with large, shining eyes. "Why is it that we women are always expected to make sacrifices for our villages, our families and our men, even to the point of selling our bodies? I loved you because you dare to live for yourself. I loved you because you have the strength to defy the world of men."

"Loved?" the ruby-eyed lady asked with an unreadable expression. She moved closer and looked right into Heihachi's glittering black eyes.

Heihachi's lips parted, but no words came out. Their faces were just inches apart. She did not know if Kyuuzou wanted her to clarify her tenses or her verbs. The tomboy mechanic stared into those scarlet eyes for a moment, then she closed the distance and brought their lips together.

It was a brief, chaste kiss, but in that moment, there ran through the soul of the samurai maiden the memory of that ancient, familiar sadness at all the wrongs that had befallen womankind, wrongs yet to be made right. She wondered if Kyuuzou felt it too - the sense of a shared sorrow more vast and more ancient than the both of them. That sadness had always hung over her heart like a dark cloud for as long as she could remember, until the day the crimson warrior appeared. In the light of her shining princess, the old darkness fled her soul. It dawned on Heihachi then that she had spent her whole life living under a cloud; that she had never before seen the sun. But Kyuuzou was her sun.

When Heihachi ended the kiss, she wondered if she would face Kyuuzou's wrath. But strangely, she did not care. It was as if she was outside of herself looking in. The silent red samurai continued to look at Heihachi with unreadable eyes. Then she raised a slender hand and ran her slim fingers lightly over the female mechanic's flushed cheek. Heihachi quivered under the taller woman's touch. Just as wordlessly as she came, Kyuuzou turned and walked away.


	8. The Proposal

A Passion with No Name  
Author: Jun-I  
Chapter 8: The Proposal 

Besides Sanae, there were three young girls staying with Yukino in the House of the Fireflies. They were all taken by force from their families and made to work as slaves in the Amanushi's palace. One of these former slaves, Mizuki, begged the samurai to destroy the Capital. It was the source of all evil plaguing the peasants.

But even if the girl had not made this request, Kanbei and Shichiroji had long decided that they had to destroy Ukyo and the Capital. Heihachi already had her orders. She was to make the necessary upgrades to their vehicle so it could withstand an arduous journey. Thus the samurai mechanic was kept busy. She almost never saw Kyuuzou. But one evening, as Heihachi finished up her work and stepped off the boat, she saw Kyuuzou sitting on the river bank, looking at the water.

Without a word, the small woman walked over and sat herself down beside the lady in red. Kyuuzou gave her an almost imperceptible smile. They sat in silence for a while, and then Heihachi spoke.

"Is Kyuuzou your real name?"

"Yes. My father gave me a boy's name."

Then the crimson warrior turned to her slowly and asked, "Is Heihachi not your real name?"

"That's just the name I use while I am living as a man," the mechanic responded. "My real name is Hitomi."

"Hitomi." Kyuuzou's lips curved slightly with amusement. "I would guess that your parents gave you that name because of your large eyes?"

Heihachi grinned. "That was what they told me. But it's not like anyone else has noticed my large eyes."

"That's because you keep squeezing them into slits." Kyuuzou smirked. Then the scarlet warrior added, "'Hitomi'… I like it better than 'Heihachi'."

Heihachi's smile grew even wider. "If you like it, you can call me that. But only when the others are not around."

Kyuuzou was silent for a moment. Then she spoke, "Well, Little Sister Hitomi, what are your plans after Kanna?"

"I don't know…" the little mechanic said as she stared at the boat. "What about you, Older Sister Kyuuzou? Do you have plans?"

"I have not thought about it." The lady in red replied, "I don't think too far into the future because I don't know if I'll live until tomorrow. In fact, which one of us knows if we'll live to see the next day?"

Heihachi pondered those words, and then she said to the older woman. "But what if we do live till tomorrow? It would be wise to have a plan for that possibility, right?"

Kyuuzou turned to look at the younger woman with a look of mild curiosity in her eyes. Heihachi's face had taken on a wistful expression. "When this is all over, and all the men have gone their way, we can go back to Kanna, just the two of us girls. I'm sure the villagers will let us stay if we ask. We could grow our own food and teach the village girls how to defend themselves."

Kyuuzou said nothing for a while. Then she asked, "The two of us?"

The short mechanic glanced nervously at the red samurai. Then she continued, "The two of us could live together. You know, just to take care of each other. I'm a good cook. I'll do the cooking. Unless you want to, of course."

Kyuuzou remained silent. Heihachi looked worriedly at the other woman's expressionless face before adding earnestly, "You don't have to love me. I would be content with your friendship. But it would make me the happiest person in the world if I could look upon your face everyday for the rest of my life."

The female samurai's scarlet eyes widened. Then she took a deep breath and said, "I don't deserve what you offer me. I have nothing to give you in return."

Kyuuzou rose to her feet and walked away without a backward glance.

"But I don't expect you to give me anything." Heihachi had called out after the blonde's departing figure, her words echoing emptily in the silence of the evening.

--------------------------------

Kyuuzou's heart was beating fast. Faster than it had done in the heat of battle. Confusion and other emotions yet unnamed raged within the scarlet samurai. Without quite thinking, Kyuuzou found her way to Kanbei's room. She did not know exactly why she was there or what she wanted. But when he opened the door, she found herself saying, "I need you. Now."

Kanbei was surprised. The younger samurai's voice was cool and devoid of emotion. Yet he could detect a strain of desperation underneath the calm facade. Strange. She had never approached him directly before. The silent woman always dropped him a veiled invitation and let him follow up if he wished. She never begged. Well, he could not say he was displeased with the change.

He would have entertained her if Shichiroji's curt voice had not cut through the thick evening air. "Excuse me, but we're in the middle of reviewing Heihachi's logistics report."

Kyuuzou looked into the room. The aide was there, sitting at the table. As Shichiroji got to his feet and headed over to the open door, the dark samurai looked from the blond woman to the blond man and then back to the blond woman. Shichiroji followed the direction of Kanbei's eyes. As the handsome young man's eyes came to rest on Kyuuzou, he gave her a cold stare. Then he sighed impatiently to attract Kanbei's attention.

"Please excuse me for now," the older man said as he bowed politely to her. The woman gave a curt bow in return and left.

Kanbei came to her room later that night. Without a word, Kyuuzou had opened the door and let him in. He understood he was just something she used to release her pent-up energies but still, he went to her willingly. Their exchanges had always been wordless, at least on her part. She had nothing to say to him. But that night, as she lay in his embrace, she said one word. A name. It was not his name.

"Hitomi!" she had whispered even as he claimed her.

He stopped and stared down at her in shock. "Hitomi? Who is Hitomi?"

"Nothing! Nobody." Kyuuzou seemed just as surprised herself. Then she recovered and said, "Just a little sister. Forget you heard that."

She put her arms around him, but her eyes had taken on a faraway look. The man looked into those scarlet orbs doubtfully. But he still finished what he had wordlessly promised her that he would do.


	9. Awkwardness

A Passion with No Name  
-----------------------  
Chapter 9: Awkwardness  
Author: Jun-I  
Pairings: female Kyuuzou/female Heihachi 

--------------------------------------

After that evening, things were awkward between Kyuuzou and Heihachi. In fact, Heihachi felt so embarrassed at herself she avoided the company of everyone, peasants or samurai. Kanbei must have noticed her discomfort. On the day before their scheduled departure, the commander asked the mechanic if she would stay on to see them through the mission. Heihachi assured him she would do so. She had never considered otherwise.

The tomboy samurai thought was just as well that she had to pilot the Yakan while the rest of the team rode in the boat. At least this meant she would not have to face Kyuuzou for a while. Still, they were forced to share the same space when they transferred to the land speeder in Shikimori territory. The two women made sure they stood on opposite sides of the vessel.

The band stopped for food in the desert (or at least Kiku's version of food). Heihachi was the only samurai open-minded enough to try the stink buns. The elegant blonde turned up her nose. Then all of a sudden, Kyuuzou turned and sprinted away.

"Is the smell that revolting?" Heihachi wondered, thinking the tall woman was probably trying to find a place to gag. Then she noticed that Kanbei was already running after the lady in red. Shichiroji and Heihachi immediately followed. They soon came upon the reason for Kyuuzou's odd behavior. The giant pieces of a wrecked Nobuseri were lying in a nearby crater.

The mechanic examined at the debris. "This damage was done by main artillery."

Kanbei asked her if she could salvage anything useful. That was when Kikuchiyo dragged the Nobuseri's pilotable flying sword out of the sand. The blade did not seem to be running too smoothly though. But after a cursory inspection, Heihachi declared she could get the thing to fly again. Kanbei said they would use this craft to go the rest of the way to the Capital.

As the mechanic worked, she threw occasional glances at the other female samurai. Kyuuzou was standing alone with her back to the group, watching the sunset. Was it because of her that the blonde was keeping her distance from the group? Heihachi chided herself for wasting her mind on 'pointless questions'. The samurai focused once again on her work. She needed to get as much done as possible before dark.

Then the sound of Komachi crying interrupted her concentration.

"Kikuchiyo is going to die!" the child sobbed.

Heihachi heard the robot promise that the girl he would never leave her. At that, Komachi declared that she would marry him when she grew up. The amused robot laughed and warned the child, "My appetite is very good."

"I like you very much. I'll feed you."

Heihachi peered down at the mismatched couple from her perch on the giant sword. She smiled a small, bitter smile. The odd exchange enfolding before her eyes was almost a comic echo of her rash proposal to Kyuuzou a few days earlier.

"I'm so touched." Kikuchiyo wept his robot tears, "Am I such a good person?"

"Yes you are." The little girl declared without hesitation.

"I'm the happiest person in the world!" The new fiancé declared as he put Komachi on his shoulders and spun around with joy.

The samurai maiden winced inwardly. "The happiest person in the world." Unwittingly, Kikuchiyo had borrowed the very words Heihachi had said to Kyuuzou, but with very different results. "Well, at least someone will have a happy ending," Hitomi thought as she smiled sadly to herself. 


	10. Final Battle

A Passion with No Name  
Author: Jun-I  
Chapter 10: Final Battle  
Pairings: female Kyuuzou/female Heihachi 

-------------------------------------------------

Kanbei sent Heihachi ahead to the village in the Yakan while he took the remaining samurai with him to the Capital. When the mechanic got to Kanna, she found Katsushiro there, preparing the villagers for the upcoming attack. It seemed that the child was still angry at Kanbei. He made it clear he was not going to rejoin the team, so the tomboy samurai left him to his own devices and headed off to face the approaching army of flying mecha.

As Heihachi put the Yakan on full throttle, she saw a streak of fire crossing the sky. It was Katsushiro, flying overhead on a giant log. The young samurai was headed right for the middle of the mecha army. Heihachi shook her head. That child was going to get himself killed. She raced towards him.

Sure enough, the piece of wood was hit by enemy artillery. The force of the blast threw Katsushiro off. The child was lucky to have survived. As he fell through the sky, Heihachi's Yakan caught up to him and seized him by the arm.

Now that the boy was safe, the female samurai focused on what was ahead. She saw her beloved making her way through the air by leaping from robot to robot, slicing metal like mud.

Heihachi landed the Yakan right on the lower platform of the Capital, next to the engine room. Just as Heihachi put Katsushiro down, the child screamed, "Kyuuzou-dono!"

It was a sound that froze Heihachi's heart. The tomboy threw open the lid of the Yakan, fearing the worst. She turned in the direction in which the child was staring – there was nothing there but the smoke from the explosion of a Nobuseri shell. The female samurai felt a hundred sickening emotions wash over her but she conquered them with a masterful effort. They were in the middle of a battle. The red-headed soldier reached back down into the depths of the Yakan and brought out the string of explosives the Shikimori people had given her.

Katsushiro said to her, almost in tears, "Heihachi-dono, Kyuuzou-dono is…"

Heihachi interrupted him before he could say the dreaded words. "This is a battlefield. Please shield me," she said matter-of-factly.

Katsushiro noticed that the other samurai's eyes were squeezed into even narrower slits than he had ever seen them. It almost looked as if the older warrior was about to cry, but when Heihachi spoke, her voice was calm and even, "I can blow this place up."

"Finish your work," Katsushiro declared. "I'll be your shield."

The boy held off the attackers while the mechanic ran from pillar to pillar laying the explosives. Still, there were too many attackers for Katsushiro alone to handle. A few times, Heihachi had to turn from her work to ward off mecha warriors with her bow.

Then one of them fired at her. Katsushiro killed it, but it was too late. Heihachi had been hit in the side. Still, the small warrior gritted her teeth and stood up. She shot down a robot which was coming up behind the boy samurai.

Even as she felt the life-giving blood draining away from her body, Heihachi forced herself to walk to last stretch and lay the last bomb against the last pillar. Just then, a Raiden flew up next to her. With what was left of her rapidly fading strength, she fired her bow at it. It blew up and fell to the earth, but not before crushing her against the wall with its sword.

Heihachi felt her own flesh mince and heard her own blood splatter. She was in great pain but she rejoiced at still having the use of her arms. She heard the boy yelling from a distance, telling her he would be right over. But the samurai woman called out even in her agony, "Don't come over!"

There was no going back for her. Kyuuzou was gone. Heihachi would finished what Kyuuzou had died trying to accomplish, even if it meant dying herself. "Let's do it!" She cried out to the child. Then without hesitation, she pushed the detonator button. The samurai maiden smiled as the blinding light flashed before her eyes. She would see Kyuuzou soon. 


	11. Secrets Kept

A Passion with No Name  
Author: Jun-I  
Chapter 11: Secrets Kept  
Pairings: female Kyuuzou/female Heihachi, Kanbei x Kyuzo, Shichiroji/Kanbei

Kyuuzou was on the ground when she heard a terrified scream from the sky. "Heihachi-dono!" For a second her heart stopped. Then the scream came again, full of desperation and grief. "Heihachi-dono!"

It was Katsushiro's voice. The samurai woman quickly scanned the battlefield with her keen ruby eyes. She saw that the engine compartment of the Capital had detached and was falling towards the earth. When the massive chunk of the great ship crashed to the ground, Kyuuzou caught a glimpse of the red-headed girl lying on it. Heihachi lay crushed and bloodied under the rubble. There was no way she could still be alive.

Kyuuzou's world stopped moving. She had seen many others die in the past but never before had she known the agony which seared her soul when she saw that still, small body under the wreckage. She never expected to feel this way. It was not until Kyuuzou saw the samurai maiden fall that she realized Heihachi meant more to her than any of the others. Much, much more.

Even so, there was nothing more she could do for the other woman. Kyuuzou steeled her heart and charged back into the battle. Yet as she fought through ranks of mecha warriors, she did not feel quite present in the moment. It was as if part of her had already left with Heihachi.

Perhaps it was because the red samurai was in this distraught frame of mind that she did not see the bullets coming. Yet she was not too shocked when they hit her. Kyuuzou had known all along that she was a mortal, even though Heihachi had worshipped her as a goddess.

Kanbei rushed over to catch the woman in his arms as she fell. Even as blood filled her lungs, the cold warrior told the man to leave her and go finish his work. The man held her still. But she barely noticed his presence. The female samurai's fading thoughts drifted to the maiden who had loved her hopelessly with all the desperate intensity of someone who had never loved before. But then the dying woman had never loved before either. Kyuuzou did not know what love was. Not until Heihachi had come and gone.

Kyuuzou's senses were flooded by searing pain, and yet she felt oddly at peace. She saw Heihachi waving at her from a distance. "Wait for me in the village," she heard herself say to the smiling flame-headed girl. The crimson warrior did not hear the tall dark man speaking tenderly to her, asking her to wait for him on the other side, telling her that he would join her soon.

The white-clad samurai felt the bloody body in his arms grow limp. He closed his eyes and took a deep, ragged breath. Kyuuzou would never put her arms around him again in the land of the living. For a few all-to-brief nights, he had gladly embraced her warm, willing body. But somehow he had always wanted more, more than she was willing to give.

Then the old soldier looked once more into the warrior's vacant ruby eyes. For a moment he thought he saw an image in those scarlet orbs other than his own reflection – the image of a beautiful, smiling flame-haired maiden dressed in a mechanic's garb. A stranger who looked oddly familiar. He blinked, and the vision was gone. Now Kanbei saw only his own face reflected in those dead eyes. He took his glove off and passed his bare hand over Kyuuzou's smooth, pale face in a last caress, closing those ruby eyes for good.

The two women were buried side by side in Kanna, next to the only man who knew the secret of the grand passion that never quite came to be. Kanbei had given Shichiroji the duty of preparing Heihachi's corpse for burial. The aide was more than surprised when he undressed the mechanic's bloody and battered body and found the slender form of a young woman beneath the shapeless clothes. He quickly and carefully wrapped her in a clean shirt. Then Shichiroji slipped her bulky vest back on, the same garment that had hidden Heihachi's female form for so long.

The blond samurai never spoke of this strange matter to anyone, not even to his lover Kanbei. If Heihachi wanted to keep a secret, who was he to reveal it? But in the years that followed, Shichiroji sometimes wondered what other secrets the small warrior had kept hidden behind her smiling eyes. 


End file.
